Gentle dental care for Sandy, Utah

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Monthly Archives: April 2013

Maintaining good dental hygiene is crucial for more reasons than you might think. The pain that comes from cavities and infection are reasons enough to keep up your dental health; but poor dental health affects not only your mouth, but the health of your entire body.

Dr. Jeff Easton, a sandy Utah dentist, recommends the five following guidelines to ensure good dental hygiene.tire body.

Brush. The first rule for good dental health is to brush your teeth – frequently. At the very least, you should brush twice a day, morning and night. Ideally, you should brush three times a day. As for your toothbruch, look for the ADA (American Dental Association) stamp. By choosing an ADA approved brush, you can be confident that you are getting the quality your teeth require. When you brush your teeth, visualize every surface of your teeth, and “see” the nooks and crevices and your gums. Brush in a gentle, circular motion, moving slowly across all of the surfaces and crevices you visualize to ensure that your brushing motion is reaching and thoroughly cleaning all the surfaces and nooks and crannies in and around your teeth where bacteria exist. Lastly, take your time. Minimally, spend two minutes thoroughly brushing every surface and crevice in and around your teeth.

Floss. After brushing your teeth thoroughly, you really need to take a couple of minutes to floss them. Nothing beats flossing for removing plaque and remaining bacteria that linger on your teeth, in between your teeth, and on your gums. Flossing also inhibits gum diseases, which if unchecked can lead to serious infections. Look for floss that has a waxed coating as this helps the floss move through your teeth more easily. Floss every day.

Mouth Rinsing. The third rule for lasting dental health is to rinse out your mouth with water or mouthwash after meals when you can’t brush. Swishing and gargling after meals helps to remove food particles and bacteria that is likely to remain after the meal. This food debris and bacteria cause an acid to form on your teeth that causes plaque and eats away at the protective enamel on your teeth. If plaque is not removed it can turn to tartar. Once plaque has turned to tartar only a dentist can get it off. The rinsing action minimizes the build up of plaque in your mouth.

Fluoride. The fourth rule for maintaining good dental hygiene is to rinse your mouth with mouthwash that contains fluoride. Fluoride strengthens the enamel on your teeth, and the harder the enamel on your teeth, the tougher it is for plaque to stick and for acid to eat through it.

Dental Check-up. The fifth rule for great dental health is to see your dentist on a regular basis. Usually dentists like you to come in every 6 months for a cleaning. Going to the dentist every six months is important for your dental health because he will do a detailed check up of all your teeth. Your dentist will also clean off any tartar build up that has occurred. Getting all of the tartar off of your teeth is crucial for avoiding gum disease.